New Sci Fi Setting Seeds

[Astromancer]

The planet Avalon had a collapse and went through a Dark Ages. However, they recovered, reconnected with their Earth heritage and found an intact series of data pods on their moon which allowed them to recover all the technology and culture they had when they got to the planet. They even made breakthroughs in Psionics. Now they're ready to find their way to connect with the civilization they were once a part of.

However, as they go out into the galaxy they don't find anything. Humanity and several other spacefaring peoples seem to be gone, and sometimes it's like they never even existed.

Basically, it's an exploration game, I see it much like Star Trek Enterprise first steps out game. The big difference is that the things that should be there aren't to be found.

This can be explained several ways.

A) Avalon or just the colonists heading there were shunted into another world with a different history, maybe Earth never developed technology beyond TL0.

B) Avalon is a pragmaclast left after a reality quake. Earth's history was rolled back several hundred years. Maybe Lincoln is just now getting nominated to the Presidency.

C) A powerful elder species took several species to other galaxies and erased their presence in this galaxy. The whole project being like replanting a plant that needs more room to grow.

[Astromancer]

Try this one...

Normally, when you drop a city into another time period, the city is a present day or relatively recent past city dropped into a technologically less sophisticated past. But way always go that way?

Drop a Raygun Gothic/Captain Future city into present day America. That might seem like a less involved scenario but it wouldn't be. First off the sudden rush of new tech would appall/terrify/disgust close to as many people as it would delight. The diplomatic snarls caused by many different nations wanting the technology desperately but not being willing to go toe-to-toe with the USA to get it for themselves alone.

Also, the whole Captain Future world and ethos was part of the New Deal America, much of our America might sicken the people of the city and not always in ways you'd expect. If in social tolerance we've gone far to the Left, in Social Welfare, Union Rights, and many other areas, we might seem brutally fascist to the Future City people.

This could be a very involved and tense campaign.

[PTTG]

Alternatively, it could be a distopian oppressive science-fiction regime, abruptly finding itself where the rebels have outside help and the oppressors are cut off from their infrestructure. Even though it's got ultra-high-tech compared to modern Earth, it's suddenly a very complicated situation. It may even be that the oppressors have the tech to turn the tables on an Earth that is divided and unprepared.

[Astromancer]

Originally Posted by PTTG

Alternatively, it could be a distopian oppressive science-fiction regime, abruptly finding itself where the rebels have outside help and the oppressors are cut off from their infrestructure. Even though it's got ultra-high-tech compared to modern Earth, it's suddenly a very complicated situation. It may even be that the oppressors have the tech to turn the tables on an Earth that is divided and unprepared.

Certainly this is the city Putin and the Chinese would like to see drop in. A further spin might lean towards total incomprehension. I mean just try to explain the government of the modern USA to a serious medieval scholastic philosopher who fallen through a timewarp. Picture explaining the details of modern American Life to an intelligent Victorian period woman who had fallen through a timewarp. Pure incomprehension is a solid line.

[Astromancer]

Try this one...

Danau Toba, a lake that was a mountain before the mountain blew up and created a century of ice age about 40,000 years ago, blows up again in 2060. With the stress on the global ecosystems caused by global warming and industrial pollution this larger eruption has magnified effects. Asian nations being closer to the blast are hurt first and hardest. Meanwhile, Africa, which recent studies suggest experienced little disruption from the last Toba mega eruption, is relatively spared. North America, because of embracing both fusion power and Vertical Farming weathers the crisis fairly well, but other nations, that hadn't moved to growing crops indoors went through hell for decades.

It's now 2110, the climate is still a chaotic mess, but Africa is a rising power. Meanwhile, the shattered remnants of Europe, Asia, and Latin America,are trying to stabilize and survive. While the struggling nations of the USA, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, are still trying to pull their economies back together.

Within Africa their are different factions. Some see the necessity of a Civilizing Mission to the non-African world to teach and enforce worthy values and moral standards. Others see the wisdom of helping others and rebuilding the shattered nations in order to rebuild a vigorous economy for the benefit of all. Others seek to gain allies against the foes. Still others simply want Africa to be the continent that gets to grab all the goodies now.

The PCs can be diplomats trying to either work with or fend off potential African "Partners," or perhaps seeking colonization as better than starvation. Agents from various African nations could be searching in the ruined nations of Eurasia for useful tech or info. Just think Cold War Russian, Chinese, and American, agents in places like the Near East or India, then switch out the players. "This is England, they say they had an Empire once."

[PTTG]

Originally Posted by Astromancer

Try this one...

Danau Toba, a lake that was a mountain before the mountain blew up and created a century of ice age about 40,000 years ago, blows up again in 2060. With the stress on the global ecosystems caused by global warming and industrial pollution this larger eruption has magnified effects. Asian nations being closer to the blast are hurt first and hardest. Meanwhile, Africa, which recent studies suggest experienced little disruption from the last Toba mega eruption, is relatively spared. North America, because of embracing both fusion power and Vertical Farming weathers the crisis fairly well, but other nations, that hadn't moved to growing crops indoors went through hell for decades.

It's now 2110, the climate is still a chaotic mess, but Africa is a rising power. Meanwhile, the shattered remnants of Europe, Asia, and Latin America,are trying to stabilize and survive. While the struggling nations of the USA, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, are still trying to pull their economies back together.

Within Africa their are different factions. Some see the necessity of a Civilizing Mission to the non-African world to teach and enforce worthy values and moral standards. Others see the wisdom of helping others and rebuilding the shattered nations in order to rebuild a vigorous economy for the benefit of all. Others seek to gain allies against the foes. Still others simply want Africa to be the continent that gets to grab all the goodies now.

The PCs can be diplomats trying to either work with or fend off potential African "Partners," or perhaps seeking colonization as better than starvation. Agents from various African nations could be searching in the ruined nations of Eurasia for useful tech or info. Just think Cold War Russian, Chinese, and American, agents in places like the Near East or India, then switch out the players. "This is England, they say they had an Empire once."

Wakanda setting is this?

[Astromancer]

Originally Posted by PTTG

Wakanda setting is this?

If you want it to be.

[Astromancer]

Try this one...

Earth hits a reality quake in 2025. At first no one notices but then the solar system begins to look deeply weird starting with Mars. The Canals are back!

Basically, modern Earth and the old pulp/Golden Age Sci Fi Solar System. Mars is deserts vast canal systems and civilizations tens of thousands of years old. Venus is jungles and dinosaurs. Jupiter's giant moons and Titan are exotic worlds of their own.

Part of the setting is the disconnect between the pulp setting and present day nearly cyberpunk Earthfolk. Hey! Maybe we could be the Evil Empire!

[tshiggins]

Originally Posted by Astromancer

Try this one...

Earth hits a reality quake in 2025. At first no one notices but then the solar system begins to look deeply weird starting with Mars. The Canals are back!

Basically, modern Earth and the old pulp/Golden Age Sci Fi Solar System. Mars is deserts vast canal systems and civilizations tens of thousands of years old. Venus is jungles and dinosaurs. Jupiter's giant moons and Titan are exotic worlds of their own.

Part of the setting is the disconnect between the pulp setting and present day nearly cyberpunk Earthfolk. Hey! Maybe we could be the Evil Empire!

I dunno about the whole "evil empire" thing, but Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos become gajillionaires.

[Astromancer]

Originally Posted by tshiggins

I dunno about the whole "evil empire" thing, but Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos become gajillionaires.

Then they'll just be called "Evil Empires." More silly less misery!